Sex differences in the use of indirect aggression in adult Canadians

Evolutionary psychologists have argued that the emergence of language was associated with reducing direct physical aggression and easing social functioning in small groups. If this is so, then males should use verbal or indirect aggression more frequently than females since they engage in more direct aggression. A recent study found no significant differences between men and women's self-reports of indirect aggression in a U.K. sample. We administered the same questionnaire to 175 male and 311 female Canadian university students. Men in this population reported using indirect aggression more frequently than women. The Canadian participants generally reported using indirect aggression less frequently than the U.K. study sample did, particularly the women. These results suggest that there are cultural differences in adults' frequency of use of indirect aggression. We review a number of possible reasons to account for these different results.